April 27, 2005
POP MUSIC REVIEW
Acoustic Boss
No E Street Band, no raucous crowd, plenty of personal power.
Bruce Springsteen
(Robert Gauthier / LAT)
Bruce SpringsteenWhere: Pantages Theatre, 6233 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood.When: May 2-3, 7:30 p.m.Tickets: Sold outContact: (323) 468-1770
By Robert Hilburn, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
Detroit — For anyone who didn't attend Bruce Springsteen's only previous solo acoustic tour a decade ago, it must have felt strange to see the celebrated rocker walk on the Fox Theatre stage Monday without the Big Man, the Professor and the rest of the E Street Band gang.
Even though this was clearly labeled a solo tour, numerous fans in the lobby speculated on who from the band would be joining him on this opening night of the tour.
It was probably even more surprising when Springsteen stepped to the microphone at the beginning of the concert to set ground rules: Please turn off cellphones and don't clap or sing along on the tunes.
In his marathon shows over the years with the E Street Band, audience reaction has been so much a part of the celebratory event the fans seemed virtual partners in the experience.
Then again, it would have been hard for the 5,100 fans to sing along anyway because they hadn't even heard most of the songs that made up the heart of Monday's sold-out concert. They are from "Devils & Dust," the album that went on sale Tuesday.While the 2 1/2-hour concert was in the deeply personal tradition of "The Ghost of Tom Joad" solo tour, which began in 1995 at the Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles, it featured only three tunes from that earlier show, including "This Hard Land," a biting statement about survival and faith in the face of overpowering obstacles.
Wearing a plain black shirt and jeans, Springsteen connected most consistently and powerfully during the evening with the new tunes, especially the spiritually tinged "Jesus Was an Only Child," which he sang at the piano.
It's a message of comfort and strength to help make it through the most troubling of times:
A mother prays, "Sleep tight, my child, sleep well,
For I'll be at your side
That no shadow, no darkness, no tolling bell
Shall pierce your dreams this night."
He was equally moving with portraits of people, including immigrants from south of the border, who have become victims in their search for a better life. The lusty "Reno" is an especially gripping expression of losing a loved one. "Matamoros Banks" is a surreal tale of a drowned immigrant's reaching for a final embrace with those left behind.
These are eloquent songs that suggest a further deepening of Springsteen as a writer. His vocals, too, have taken on an added urgency and drive, as he moved from growls to falsetto-edged cries to reach into the heart of the songs' characters.
Springsteen, who campaigned for Sen. John F. Kerry in the last presidential race, only touched overtly on politics once, engaging in some Bush bashing during the intro to the sarcastic "Part Monkey, Part Man."
Some of the older numbers felt a bit out of place, but Springsteen is good at shuffling the song lineup, and things should be smoother by the time the tour reaches the Pantages next week. Except for two small video screens above the stage, special effects were minimal, offering an intimacy that kept attention on Springsteen and the songs.
By mixing solo and band tunes, Springsteen wove together the two traditions that have sometimes seemed to divide his work.
In the brilliant '70s albums "Born to Run" and "Darkness on the Edge of Town," he was the excited young man who loved Elvis Presley and Bob Dylan and wanted to be both — a joyful, charismatic performer and a stylish songwriter who could chronicle the feelings of a generation.
By the time of "The River" in 1980, however, it was clear that a second Springsteen was emerging. This was the adult who was increasingly intrigued by songwriters, such as Woody Guthrie and Hank Williams, and novelists, such as John Steinbeck, who could depict so poignantly the plight of outsiders.
Springsteen explored that new terrain in "Nebraska," a storytelling masterpiece blessed with a grim, relentless vision rarely seen in pop music. Most of the "Devils & Dust" songs have a similar folk-country flavoring and are framed sometimes with just the barest of melodies.
Backstage before the concert, Springsteen said he understands how some critics and fans see a sharp line between the music with the E Street Band and his acoustic work. Yet he doesn't share that view. "It's just two sides of what I do and what I've always done," he said. "It's not like one's my day job and the other's my night job. Some of the songs can work equally well in either style with a few changes of arrangement. Even back when I was playing in bands in Asbury Park when I was 17 or 18, I used to put down the electric guitar in one club and pick up a 12-string and go play coffeehouses."
Springsteen said the freedom he feels playing solo "eventually balances and defines and I think deepens the work I do when I'm out with the band." But he doesn't prefer it to the E Street Band. "I love being a front man," he said, smiling. "I always wanted to write songs that connected with the construction workers and the firemen and the policemen, the guys and girls on the street. The E Street Band reached that audience. "It's fun to be riding down the street and some firemen go by and they say, 'Hey, Bruce.' I enjoy that."
Later on stage, the two sides of Springsteen came together in disarming fashion during a slowed-down version of "Waitin' on a Sunny Day," one of the most infectious tunes from his "The Rising" album.
In the concerts with the E Street Band, Springsteen joyfully leads the audience in singing the chorus. As he looked out at the crowd during the encore Monday, he could surely sense the fans straining to sing along but holding back to honor his pre-show request.
After a while, he smiled and threw out his silence rule. "Come on," he said enthusiastically. The delighted audience sang and clapped heartily, followed by familiar chants of "Bruuuuce." If that moment gave the audience a taste of the more freewheeling spirit of the E Street Band shows, Springsteen returned two songs later with one of his most prized E Street anthems.
In closing with "The Promised Land," he transformed the number from a triumphant statement of hope to a stark, desperate prayer. Earlier, Springsteen spoke between numbers about the need for a "humane immigration policy" in the United States. In this context, the song's classic final lines — "Blow away the dreams that tear you apart," "blow away the dreams that break your heart" — seemed like a solemn benediction for those who have died in their pursuit of finding their own promised land in this country.
It wasn't a cheerful way to end the evening, but the point of the concert and the new album couldn't have been delivered with any more passion and impact. Since his superstar days following "Born in the U.S.A.," Springsteen has suffered at times from the inevitable backlash of such massive success. He mocked such thinking by his ambition and command Monday. This was an artist on his own, with no smoke and mirrors. It was just Springsteen and his craft, and he showed he can still dig so deep inside that he could give you chills.
Robert Hilburn, pop music critic of The Times, can be reached at Robert.Hilburn@latimes.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment